Amazon Introduces Bigger Trucks For Pandemic-Era Deliveries

Amazon has launched a new style of truck that is bigger and boxier, similar to those used by competitors at the United Parcel Service (UPS), Reuters reported.

The company is working on fixing the delays in deliveries spurred by the pandemic.

Because of those delays, some customers became irate and ended up switching to Walmart’s more direct physical retail instead, and so Amazon wants to step up their own productivity. The company, according to Reuters, ordered over 2,200 Utilimaster “walk-in” delivery trucks from Michigan-based Shyft Group, which works in specialty vehicles.

The urgency is for Amazon to make sure its Prime customers, who pay $119 per year, get their one- and two-day deliveries on time, with orders for food, toys and exercise equipment spiking in the wake of the U.S.’s shutdown orders from earlier this year, and people looking to spend more time at home due to the coronavirus.

The massive influx in deliveries had an affect on the company’s ability to get items out on time, according to Reuters, and the new trucks are supposed to alleviate the stress on Amazon’s delivery capabilities.

Reuters reports that the trucks had been purchased last year, but Amazon declined to say why it had taken so long to get them working. One truck has been seen in Chicago, and in Los Angeles, training has been underway for them as well. According to drivers, the trucks are capable of holding more packages overall — although two drivers who were quoted anonymously by Reuters said they’d declined to use the new trucks due to their weight and higher difficulty level to drive.

Amazon’s van-buying tendencies have been a help for auto makers, PYMNTS recently reported. Last year, car manufacturers sold 2.6 million units to fleets, a record high. Amazon, which started its own delivery fleet in 2018, has over 30,000 last-mile delivery vans and trucks.